ALOUD @ Los Angeles Public Library

Award-winning and bestselling author Emily St. John Mandel comes to the ALOUD stage to discuss her latest novel, Sea of Tranquility, with National Book Award Winner Charles Yu (Interior Chinatown). A genre-bending work of speculative fiction exploring the nature of time and reality through the eyes of characters living across a span of 500 years. Sea of Tranquility was on The New York Times bestseller list and is one of President Obama’s favorite books of 2022. Mandel is the author of five other novels, including The Glass House and Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was the basis of a limited series on HBO Max.

Join international bestselling author and poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai in conversation with a host of The Vietnamese podcast Kenneth Nguyen to discuss her second novel written in English, Dust Child. Described by Viet Thanh Nguyen as “powerful and deeply empathetic… A heartbreaking tale of lost ideals, human devotion, and hard-won redemption,” Dust Child is set both during the Việt Nam War and in present-day Việt Nam. Dust Child tells an unforgettable story of how those who inherited tragedy can redefine their destinies through love, hard-earned wisdom, compassion, courage, and joy.Quế Mai’s debut novel in English, The Mountains Sing, was an international bestseller, runner-up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the 2020 Book Browse Best Debut Award, the 2021 International Book Awards, the 2021 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, and the 2020 Lannan Literary Award Fellowship for Fiction.;Co-presented with Skylight Books.

"I wrote this book in the hopes of making grief less frightening, mysterious, and lonely for those of us who suddenly find ourselves on this difficult journey."—Colin Campbell When film and theater writer/director Colin Campbell’s two teenage children were killed by a drunk driver, Campbell was thrown headlong into a grief so deep he felt he might lose his mind. He found much of the common wisdom about coping with loss—including the ideas that grieving is a private and mysterious process and that the pain is so great that "there are no words"—to be unhelpful. Drawing on what he learned from his own journey, Campbell offers an alternative path for processing pain that is active and vocal and truly honors loved ones lost. Finding the Words gives readers practical advice on how to survive in the aftermath of loss, teaching how to actively reach out to their community, perform mourning rituals, and find ways to express their grief, so they can live more fully while also holding their loved ones close.

Celebrated Irish writer Colm Tóibín (Brooklyn, The Master) returns with a new book of scintillating essays, A Guest at the Feast. This collection blends both the personal with the provocative giving us an intimate look at Tóibín’s experiences and his growing understanding of Catholicism. Again we are amazed by his ability to move with such grace between the interior life of his subjects to the conditions of the world around them. Tóibín will be discussing this collection and more with his good friend and fellow writer, Rachel Kushner (The Flamethrowers, The Mars Room).

This program features personal stories by various individuals who made a connection with P-22 and understand the immediate need for wildlife protection, along with guests who answered an open mic call to share their knowledge and admiration for P-22. The evening features California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation’s Beth Pratt, writer Martha Groves, author Sherry Mangel-Ferber, LA Times reporter Laura Nelson, Senior Manager of Community Science for Natural History Museum Miguel Ordeñana, Chumash and Tataviam elder Alan Salazar, and illustrator Alexander Vidal. The open mic welcomes (in order of appearance) playwright, actor, and musician Amy Raasch, LAPL librarian Tommy Bui, longtime ALOUD attendee Terrence Butcher, and Seed Program Manager of Theodore Payne Foundation Genevieve Arnold to share their remembrances.

Performance artist, comedian, activist, and local elected official Kristina Wong began sewing masks three days into the COVID-19 shutdown and spreading the word through her social media. Due to the overwhelming response, she enlisted friends and strangers to form the Auntie Sewing Squad to provide PPE and other relief to people all over the country. The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice tells the stories of these primarily BIPOC folks who took up the call to fill in the gaps of the U.S. government responded by creating a model for mutual aid in the 21st century. Join Wong and the Aunties on the ALOUD stage as they share their stories ahead of the highly anticipated Los Angeles premiere of Wong’s Pulitzer Prize finalist solo play, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord.

Called the "best short-story writer in English," (Time) George Saunders is back with a masterful collection that explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. With his trademark prose, Saunders continues to challenge and surprise—here is a collection of prismatic, resonant stories that encompass joy and despair, oppression and revolution, bizarre fantasy, and brutal reality. Join Saunders for an ALOUD program discussing these nine subversive, profound, and essential stories that coalesce into a case for viewing the world with the same generosity and clear-eyed attention Saunders does, even in the most absurd of circumstances. He will be joined in conversation by actor, comedian, and close friend Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation, A League of Their Own).

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy and renowned author and social scientist Dr. Robert D. Putnam join ALOUD for a wide-ranging conversation about the past and future of the community in America. In this exclusive conversation, Dr. Murthy and Dr. Putnam will discuss how we can begin to address some of the biggest challenges facing Americans today regarding connection, informed by thorough historical analysis and a wide-ranging listening tour across countless communities nationwide. This program is presented in association with the special exhibition, Something in Common, currently on view at Los Angeles Central Library, and further explores the importance of human connection and social capital for the health of our democracy, our communities, and ourselves.

This event marks the culmination of the inaugural Los Angeles Public Library Creators in Residence, highlighting new original work by photographer Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin and visual artist River Garza. Rooted in the Black community and Indigenous Tongva community respectively, Boyd-Bouldin and Garza have produced thoughtful, reflective, gorgeous works in response to their explorations of the Los Angeles Public Library system over the past year. In this conversation, the two artists will discuss their approach to making art, how they were inspired by the library's mission and role in L.A.’s diverse neighborhoods, and ways of seeing the city we call home. Following the conversation, experience hands-on activities for all ages, such as printmaking, in the outdoor courtyards. This program also coincides with the showcase of the artists’ photos, mixed media paintings, and writings in an exhibition in the First Floor Galleries. In partnership with the Los Angeles Public Library.

Join Cody Keenan, President Obama’s chief speechwriter, and Jon Favreau, co-host of Pod Save America and founder of Crooked Media, to discuss Keenan’s new book Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America. Through the behind-the-scenes moments, from Obama’s suggestion that Keenan pour a drink, listen to some Miles Davis, and "find the silences" to the president’s late-night writing sessions in the First Family’s Residence, Keenan takes us inside the craft of speechwriting at the highest level for the most demanding of bosses, the relentlessly poetic and perfectionist Barack Obama.